Dirigible headlight device



y 1943- E. J. POTTS 4 D-IRIGI'BLE" HEADLIGHT DEVICE Filed April 26, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet l Inventor A?! Mi.

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July 6, 1948. E'. J. POTTS DIRIGIBLE HEADLIGHT DEVICE Filed April 26, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 y 4 Attorney;

July 6, 1948. E. J. POTTS DIRIGIBLE HEADLIGHT DEVICE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April 26, 1945 4 r n r a:

Ill/IA Inventor Edward/F022:

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Patented July 6, 1948 stares 2,444,846 I ijIRioI'BLE. HEADLiGI IT Davida. Edward J Potts, S tbne McIinta'inQ-Ga. "Application April 26, 1945, {serial ENoiQdQtt "4 Claims. 1.

inventionrlates to adirigible headlight f r locomotives, and an object of'the ins: to provide-a, device in which the headlightwillbe gauftoi natically turned so that the light wille di'iected in the proper pathwhen the ounding. an ordinary curve. I len'other fimp'oiitant object of the present invention is to provide. a dirigible headlight device by h 'ea'risioi whichftheheadlight may be autoniaticahfturned by connection with 'a swiveled truck eff thelocohiotive so that the light will be dircted in theprop'enp'ath when the locomotive is; iundi ig. an ordinary curve, and in which the headli ht inay bedisconnected from the swiveled truck airidtturned by manually controlled poweroperated eansltodirect the light in the proper hathjw e the locomotive is rounding unusual curves lonwhi c'h automatic operation will not causefthe li ht. to always be directed. in the ptbii .r' ath- "Aln'orespecific object of'the invention con templates. the provision of a dirigible locomotive headlight de'vice thatmay, be readily installed ohj'a 1o'coh1otiv'e,Iand one vthatv'rill operate'effioientlyffan'd,otherwise.meet with the requiremerits fjor i'ajsucces'sful commerical use. V

Thepresent application .is acontinuatio'n, in part,hr1ahah ohea1 application Serial No. 558,895, ldhqctober lfi, 19 n. I

Other, objects and features, of the invention W 'b'cfil l pai'ent. from. the following description .tvhen.Iconsidered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure '11s a fragmentary view, partly in side elevationan'd partly in vertical longitudinal section l'showingfan'iembodiment of the present inven on; installed upon 'a locomotive of the team a d pe Figure 2. is an enlarged'horizontal seotiontaken onli11eI2.-..2, of Figure 1, but with thebody. of the.

ame-M t e F gure is ,a vertical section taken on line 3 3lof Figure 2.,aridpelrtl'y broken away and in atan. V

'l fig'uref i ,is aihorizontal section taken von line 4 4. (irri ate. 3.

onfl n F ur offth'efcoh'trol valve and switch device forming part of 1 heiconstructionshown in Figure 1,

51is "a "fragmentary vertical section taken .fdisan enlarged side elevational view.

into the stating mctofan'd. tofsimuita ebu'si exhaust; thefhui'd.

pressure from the front end of: 'said motor.

'Figuie'B'isa 'viewsiniilaritofFiguremwith the movable valvemenfloerpositiohedto admitl fiuid pressure to'the front. end ofthe .fluidpressu're Figure, 9 is a-horizont'al section taken on line 9-'9' 0f Figure '6. v V

Figure 10 a wiring diagran ishowing the circuit arrangement to; "the solenoid employed. to connect anddisconn spect to the swivel'truckbfthe, locomotive.

Referring in detailtoith'e .draw'ings, the p res ent dirigible headlight device ishhoWn' installed upon "a locomotive ofthe streamlined type'havinga body5'fand' a front 'swiveledi truck 6,. As shown, the body 5 is provided tatthe front/with an opening I, and the headlighttis inounted within the body 5 directlybehind and in registry withlthe opening Tsofas tofdirect the rays'of light forwardly through the latter onto the track.

infadvance'of' the locoinotive.

A horizontal bracket plate 9 isbolted or otherwise. secured 'at 'iflfto theiront of the body 5' soas, to be disposedwithin the front of the latter i afslight distanoe'below the opening 1.1 Pivotallythe bracket plate -9 a base; plate l2 and a bracket |3wflX6d on. the

plate l2 "and. having the headlight 8 securedthereo'n. A circular series of spaced rollers It the bracket plate. 9 in concen-.

is provided upon I trio an'd'surrounding. relation. to the pivot J, and theplate l2 crank plate I 5. and the bracket plate 9. J ournaled at|8 .on the plate 9 'behind'thejpivot II .is a.

ear-l9 which'meshesfwithjand is interposed between the Segment. pinion 1| 1; and 'rurthertegn 'ent pin'ion ,ZOjsecure'd von the upperend of a shaftjZi thatjis journal ed in and etehds'down'- Wardly through the bracket plate .9. constituting the projecting end of the.

doiwnyvardly ithroug'hlanopeningjofapllate l'zjahd.

la. oifc'r'ahh plate .irsrsm as t ect the headlight with re-- mounted "at H in spaced relation to and above-v for rotation about ','a vertical axisiis a support forthe headlight 8 including of the headlight support rests: upon these "r'olle'r'sso asto be supported by the. latter for free rotation. Pivoted on the'pivotll Th e'pivoted endof crank. segment pinion l7 which A pin 22' core of a.

cause the plate |2 to rotate with the crank plate |5. The pin or core 22 is normally projected and is adapted to be retracted upwardly from the opening |6 when the coil of solenoid 23 is energized. Obviously, when the pin 22 is withdrawn from opening IS, the crank plate I is allowed to turn relative to the plate l2 without rotating the latter and the head lamp 8 mounted thereon.

A horizontal bracketarm 22 is bolted to the front of the truck 6 so as to project forwardly from the latter. A vertical shaft 24 is disposed in a vertical plane to one side of the shaft 2|, as shown in Figure 5. An intermediate shaft 25 respectively has its opposite ends connected by universal joints 26 and 21 with the upper end of shaft 24 and the lower end of shaft 2|. This construction is equivalent to flexible shafting and makes it possible to position the shaft 2| midway between the sides of locomotive body and operatively connect it with the bracket arm 22' even though the locomotive construction is such that said bracket arm 22' must be secured to the truck 6 to one side of the longitudinal center of the locomotive. Shaft 24 is journaled in a bearing 28 carried by the upper end of a bracket 29 mounted upon the floor 3|] of the locomotive. A forwardly projecting crank arm 3| is secured on the lower end portion of shaft 24, and a nutted bolt 32 operatively connects the bracket arm 22' with the crank arm 3| so that turning of the truck 5 will effect turning of shaft 24 for rotating plate l2 through the gearing described. By placing the bolt 32 the required distance from shaft 24, the proper degree of turning can be had according to the particular type of locomotive 'on which the invention is installed.

Mounted upon the bracket plate 9 rearwardly of the plate I2 is a reciprocating fluid pressure motor 33 of the double-acting type including a cylinder having a piston 34 reciprocable therein. The motor 33 is disposed to one side of the pivot i and the piston 34. has a forwardly projecting piston rod 35 which is operatively connected at 36 with the plate l2 eccentrically of the latter. The arrangement is such that when the piston 34 is moved rearwardly, plate I2 is turned to turn the head lamp H to the left, and when the piston is moved forwardly, plate It and the headlight are turned to the right. Adjustable spring means 31 are provided for normally yieldingly positioning the plate I2 so that the headlight is arranged to direct the rays of light straight ahead.

Arranged within the engineers cab of the locomotive is a valve 38 for controlling the operation of motor 33, said valve including a casing having a rotatable valve member 39 therein which is provided with an operating handle 40. At one level, the valve member 39 is provided with a pair of arcuate passages 4| and 42 and the casing has four equally spaced ports, one of which communicates with a fluid pressure supply pipe 43, another of which is connected by a pipe 44 with the front end of motor 33, another of which is connected by a pipe 45 with the rear end of motor 33, and the remaining one of which is indicated at 4'6 and opens to the atmosphere. The arrangement is such that when the valve member 39 is turned to the position of Figure '7, fluid under pressure is admitted to the rear of the motor 33 so as to move the piston 34 forwardly and turn the headlight to the right. The arrangement is" also such that when the valve member 39 is turned to the position of Figure 8, fluid under pressure is admitted to the front of cylinder 33 so as to move the piston 34 rearwardly and cause the headlight to be turned to the left. The degree .and speed of turning movement of the headlight may be regulated by proper manipulation of the valve, and safety pressure relief valves may be employed in the pipes 44 and 45 so as to release the pressure when the piston 34 has reached either limit of its movement, even though the valve member 39 is not promptly actuated to discontinue the supply of fluid under pressure to the motor 33. Any suitable means may be provided for limiting turning movement of the plate |-2, such as predetermined length of the cylinder of motor 33 and corresponding limiting of the stroke "of piston 34.

- At another level, the valve member 39 is provided with-a T-shaped passage 41 and the casing has three equally spaced ports, one of which is connected to the pipe 44 by a branch 48, another of which is connected to the pipe 45 by a branch 49, and the remaining one of which is indicated at 5B and communicates with theatmosphere.

The arrangement is such that when the valve member 39 is turned to position the ports 4| and 42 out of communication with the pipes 43, 44 and 45, the passage 41 will connect the branches 43 and'49 with the port 59 so as to exhaust the pressure fluid from both ends of the motor 33, thereby permitting free movement of piston 34 so that automatic actuation of the headlight may be had by connection with the swivel truck 6 and by engagement of pin 22 in opening iii of plate i2. Of course, when valve member 39 is posi-l tinned as shown in Figure 7, pipe 44 is in communication with exhaust port 46 so as to exhaust the fluid from the front end of the motor 33, while pipe 45 is connected with exhaust port 46 to exhaust the fluid from the rear end of motor 33 when the valve member 39 is positioned as shown in Figure 8.

In order to conveniently normally open the? circuit of solenoid 23 and to manually close said circuit, a switch device is associated with handle 49 of valve 38, as shown more clearly in Figure 6. As shown in the latter figure, a push-button switch 5|is mounted upon the free end of handle 49, and overlying this push-button switch is the rear end portion of a hollow or concave lever 52 pivoted at its forward end, as at 53, to the handle 45 adjacent the stem of valve member 39. Lever 52 is thus mounted for vertical swinging movement and is normally yieldingly elevated by a spring 54 interposed between handle 43 and lever 52. As shown in Figure 10; the coil of solenoid 23 is connected at one side to one side of a battery or other source of current 55 by a wire 56, the

other side of said coil being connectedby a wire 51 to one contact of the switch 5|. The other contact of switch 5| is connected to the other side of battery or source of current 55 by a wire 58. The arrangement is such that spring 54 normally elevates the lever 52 so as to permit the switch 5| to assume its normally open condition whereby the coil of solenoid 23 is de-energized and the core or pin 22 is projected to couple the plate l2 and crank plate I5. Assuming that the valve member 39 is positioned to exhaust both ends of motor 33, the normal arrangement will be such that the headlight is automatically turned by operative connection with the swivel truck .6, as desirable when traveling straight ahead or negotiating ordinary turns However, unusual curves in a rail- 'way track are often encountered in which the automatic turning of the headlight is not accurate or satisfactory. At such times, it is desirable to discontinue use of the automatic headlight actuation and to turn the headlight by means of motor 33 under control of valve 38. To do this, it is simply necessary to grasp the handle 40 and lever 52 of valve 38, pressing downwardly on lever 52 so as to operate switch for closing the circuit of the coil of solenoid 23. This causes the pin 22 to be retracted from opening I 6 so that supporting plate l2 may be turned independently of the crank plate l5 and the elements operatively connecting it with the swivel truck 6 of the locomotive. While holding the lever 52 depressed, the valve member 39 may be turned to eiTect actuation of motor 33 and turning of the headlight 8 in the desired diretion and to the desired degree or extent. When power actuation of the plate 12 is no longer desired, the valve 38 may be set to exhaust fluid from both ends of the motor 33 and lever 52 may be released to de-energize the coil of solenoid 23 and permit the pin 22 to again engage in opening I 6. The latter will cause the plate I2 to again be coupled with crank plate l5 so that automatic actuation of the headlight will be effected by connection of the same with the swiveled truck of the locomotive.

While I have illustrated a particular operating connection between the plate l2 and the truck 6, and while I have shown the invention installed upon a locomotive of the streamlined type, it will be obvious that the invention may be modified within certain limits as to details of the operating connection between said plate l2 and truck 6 and as to the manner of installing the invention upon the locomotive, depending upon the type of the latter. Only minor changes and exercise of skill is required to adapt the invention for use upon a locomotive of the ordinary or non-streamlined type.

From the foregoing description, it is believed that the construction, operation and advantages of the present invention will be readily understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art.

What I claim is:

1. In combination with the body, the engineer's cab and the swiveled front truck of a locomotive, a horizontal bracket mounted on the locomotive body, a headlight support mounted on said bracket to turn about a vertical axis, means operatively connecting said truck to said headlight support including a truck-actuated member mounted between said bracket and said support to turn about said vertical axis and a releasable element normally connecting said member to said support, manually controlled power-operated means for releasing said element, and a motor mounted on said bracket, said motor being manually controlled from the engineer's cab and operatively connected to said support for selectively turning said support in either direction.

2. In combination with the body, the engineers cab and the swiveled front truck of a locomotive, a horizontal bracket mounted on the locomotive body, a headlight support mounted on said bracket to turn about a vertical axis, means operatively connecting said truck to said headlight support including a truck-actuated member mounted between said bracket and said support to turn about said vertical axis and a releasable element normally connecting said member to said support, electrically-operated means mounted on said support for releasing said element, double-acting fluid pressure motor operatively connected to said support and mounted on said bracket for turning said support in either direction, and manually operable means located in the engineer's cab for controlling said electrically-operated means and said fluid pressure motor.

3. The construction defined in claim 2, wherein a valve is provided for controlling the motor including a movable valve member having an operating handle, and wherein said electrically-operated means includes a normally open switch mounted upon the handle of said valve so as to be closed upon gripping the handle to actuate the valve.

4. The construction defined in claim 2, wherein a valve is provided for controlling the motor including a movable valve member having an operating handle, and wherein said electrically-operated means includes a normally open switch mounted upon the handle of said valve so as to be closed upon gripping the handle to actuate the valve, in combination with a vertically swinging lever pivoted to the valve handle and depressible for closing the switch, and a spring for normally elevating said lever to permit opening of the switch.

EDWARD J. POTTS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

